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Reviews
Mah nakorn (2004)
Here's a joke for you....
Q: How many plastic water bottles are consumed in the USA daily? A: Approx. 2 millions !
Seriously, this movie has some engaging elements but is light-hearted fare, perfect for a day of nice weather but you are still needing your cinematic fix! When it was finished I felt refreshed and energized. There isn't really anything to spoil but I'll tread lightly nonetheless.
Colors abound, there is a spunky score, some REAL jokes but thoroughly adult. Overly-sentimental this film IS NOT. Its honest and doesn't get preachy either. Perhaps its just that its a foreign film's slightly different style, but this American was smiling the whole time.
Vote: 7
Deep Red (1994)
It was tough ... but the avg genre fan will enjoy
There isn't anything wrong with the overall tone, the scene shooting looks good enough and the actors have a fair script it seem so to me. Interesting premises if a little "deux ex machina". It does alter the 'overall tone' as I mentioned i.e. another sciffy is logged for our enjoyment. I like the score, no pop songs or MTV montages here. Biehn is easy on the eyes as is the Polish actress who plays Monica. I like most of the user comments here; My rating is 5/10. To quote a nice scene in the movie, "It felt good tonight didn't it?" There were nice, understated FX. The cheese is more like a condiment than a key ingredient.
America Undercover: Looking for Fidel (2004)
3 pages to go...
You'll know what I mean once you've seen the doc. The level of professionalism is ratcheted up to something akin to 60 Minutes over, say, typical documentary fare like Hidden in Plain Sight, which I have reviewed. There is no narration, although factoids appear a few times. And the interpreter is fairly impressive. I think I'd like the DVD if it had additional footage, which is inevitable here I think. If you have seen Buena Vista Social Club, you already have a feel for Cuba, which many Americans may not. I already knew that, for instance, Cuba's literacy rate is one of the best in the world. They generally do not suffer for lack of food either. The film makes references to the Cuban 5 and the Cuban international trade scenario. I suppose I will research further because the intent is to focus on Fidel here and it does that admirably. I felt like it dragged a little about 3o-45 minutes in, but Fidel's passion and struggle in having to face compromises in his wish to hold to certain revolutionary principles is more than charming. Small states are traditionally virtuous because they are weaker, and vice versa for big states, a point Castro manages to put in context without using it as a crutch. Watch for the shot of Che at the end, a startling likeness to Benicio Del Toro, who has looked like many.
Hidden in Plain Sight (2003)
Who remain?
After viewing, I barely had the energy to begin a discussion but negligence is dangerous, which is the heart of the message in this documentary of activism against the School of the Americas (renamed Western Hemispheric Institute for Security and Cooperation 2001). The flagship school for U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, WHISC teaches paramilitary organizational culture, with commando tactics and operational procedures (drug raids, counter-insurgency, psychopolitical propaganda, etc..) rounding out the program. Students stay anywhere from one to six months. The film highlights the most objectionable aspects of the Institute with conscious reflection of both sides of the debate, providing exclusive interviews, media footage, and factual presentation.
The vociferous activist slant points out the nefarious goals of such foreign policy: protection of corporate interests in L. America (greed, cheap labour, resource grabbing), propping up convenient dictatorships (via the Contras), and exporting democratic principles of leadership. The documentary touches on the ethics of globalization in Latin America, revolution, indigenous culture, human rights, and the environment.
The activists state their case quite clearly: anti-groupthink, Christian values (thou shalt not kill), healing (versus militancy), and solidarity with the poor (not the powerful). The pro-Institute side makes its case and this makes for a solid view of the debate if not the intrinsic realities of American foreign policy. Updated over the 1994 video "School of Assassins" and lengthier. 8 out of 10.